Is .057 phosphate high?

[Redandluvenit]

I understand that. But will my war coral come back or should I just take him out

 

[ReefHunter006]

It's driving me nuts. I'm using gfo and phosphate pads and water change every 3 days. Nothing

Speculation on my part, I hope it helps lead you to a solution. If your using GFO, and It sounds to me like your using a decent amount (guessing), are you watching what it does to your alkalinity and correcting?

Alk will bind to GFO and cause swings. That’s one of the reasons it needs to be used in small amounts and added slowly (combined with it will cause a rapid reduction inPO4). Hope I’m not repeating what you already k ow.

 

[Redandluvenit]

Speculation on my part, I hope it helps lead you to a solution. If your using GFO, and It sounds to me like your using a decent amount (guessing), are you watching what it does to your alkalinity and correcting?

Alk will bind to GFO and cause swings. That’s one of the reasons it needs to be used in small amounts and added slowly (combined with it will cause a rapid reduction inPO4). Hope I’m not repeating what you already k ow.

I have a 60 gallon tank. I use 1 cup of gfo every 3 days and a 20% water change.. it's going down slowly. But it's damaged my war coral

 

[BanjoBandito]

It's driving me nuts. I'm using gfo and phosphate pads and water change every 3 days. Nothing

Have you added anything to the tank prior to the war coral dying/bleaching out? Have you changed the lights? Usually phosphate just inhibits growth, it doesn't seem to directly KILL corals at "reasonable" levels?

 

[Redandluvenit]

Have you added anything to the tank prior to the war coral dying/bleaching out? Have you changed the lights? Usually phosphate just inhibits growth, it doesn't seem to directly KILL corals at "reasonable" levels?

Nope. Nothing

 

[Shirak]

Funny how they say a number is high and a number is low, and then say they are not advocating chasing numbers.

So we should just toss our test kits and let the numbers be whatever the numbers are and not worry about anything? If you are going to test then you should have a range that you are shooting for. Why else test? If your over that range then yes it is high and should be brought down within the range you want. Your acceptable range may be different from another and that's fine. Call it chasing numbers if you want, I don't care. IMO chasing numbers is freaking out because it might be .06 instead of .05 and doing something drastic to correct a situation which could simply be test error factor.

I stand by my statement that .57 is high for phosphates and it would be better to be between .02 - .1ppm

 

[Shirak]

I have a 60 gallon tank. I use 1 cup of gfo every 3 days and a 20% water change.. it's going down slowly. But it's damaged my war coral

Are you monitoring Alk, Ca, Mg and Nitrates? If so what are they?

What test kits are you using?

 

[BanjoBandito]

So we should just toss our test kits and let the numbers be whatever the numbers are and not worry about anything? If you are going to test then you should have a range that you are shooting for. Why else test? If your over that range then yes it is high and should be brought down within the range you want. Your acceptable range may be different from another and that's fine. Call it chasing numbers if you want, I don't care. IMO chasing numbers is freaking out because it might be .06 instead of .05 and doing something drastic to correct a situation which could simply be test error factor.

I stand by my statement that .57 is high for phosphates and it would be better to be between .02 - .1ppm

I think we can all agree that .57 phosphates is not ideal, but is it deadly? Would it wipe out a war coral colony? They are pretty hardy in my opinion? It kinda looks bacterial due to the "fuzz" on the mouths?

 

[Shirak]

I think we can all agree that .57 phosphates is not ideal, but is it deadly? Would it wipe out a war coral colony? They are pretty hardy in my opinion? It kinda looks bacterial due to the "fuzz" on the mouths?

I agree it's very difficult to say .. yes it was caused by X. There are probably multiple factors if the phosphates are .57 which is stressing the coral. The bacterial fuzz could be secondary as tissue is dying for other reasons.

 

[BanjoBandito]

I agree it's very difficult to say .. yes it was caused by X. There are probably multiple factors if the phosphates are .57 which is stressing the coral.

I agree....there's gotta be some larger problem going on. To see that much damage and loss on an established colony is not good.

 

[ReefHunter006]

I have a 60 gallon tank. I use 1 cup of gfo every 3 days and a 20% water change.. it's going down slowly. But it's damaged my war coral

That seems like a lot to me but It would really depend on what your alkalinity looks like. I have a 65 gallon that when I use GFO i was using it tablespoons at time and not cups. I also have a war coral if that matters.

I was using Rowaphos so different brands require different amounts as well.

 

[Redandluvenit]

That seems like a lot to me but It would really depend on what your alkalinity looks like. I have a 65 gallon that when I use GFO i was using it tablespoons at time and not cups. I also have a war coral if that matters.

I was using Rowaphos so different brands require different amounts as well.

 

[Redandluvenit]

I took water to a pet store for a full testing. And all they said was my phosphate was high

 

[Shirak]

I took water to a pet store for a full testing. And all they said was my phosphate was high

Did they tell you what your other parameters are and can you post them?

 

[Redandluvenit]

Did they tell you what your other parameters are and can you post them?

 

[Redandluvenit]

 

[Redandluvenit]

Did they tell you what your other parameters are and can you post them?

 

[Goaway]

How long have you had the war coral?
When did you notice it started to decline?
Is your saltwater mixed with tap water or Ro/DI
What lights are you using?
Do you have any other corals doing well?
I am not trying to be mean. But maybe start a new thread asking for help with war coral, so we can get more attention to your piece. It is very lovely and I would love to help you get it back to health.

I never used GFO, so I can't give you any advice on that stuff.

 

[Redandluvenit]

How long have you had the war coral?
When did you notice it started to decline?
Is your saltwater mixed with tap water or Ro/DI
What lights are you using?
Do you have any other corals doing well?
I am not trying to be mean. But maybe start a new thread asking for help with war coral, so we can get more attention to your piece. It is very lovely and I would love to help you get it back to health.

I got it in June. Just recently started declining. Other corals and fish are fine. Here's a pic when I first got it I believe on June 1

 

[Redandluvenit]

How long have you had the war coral?
When did you notice it started to decline?
Is your saltwater mixed with tap water or Ro/DI
What lights are you using?
Do you have any other corals doing well?
I am not trying to be mean. But maybe start a new thread asking for help with war coral, so we can get more attention to your piece. It is very lovely and I would love to help you get it back to health.

I never used GFO, so I can't give you any advice on that stuff.

Since June 1.